517 creations

The Project House "Afters"...The Living Room and Dining Room

2015-01-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

The living room and dining room were two of my favorite rooms in the house. They had original wood floors and gorgeous trim. They just needed a TON of cosmetic changes. Besides the dirt and dust that you can see in the picture, the rooms smelled like thousands of cats lived in them.

And the afters...

The Living Room

The Dining Room

The changes to the living room of the Project House are:

The original hardwood floors were refinished beautifully and stained Dark Walnut. Todd of Eagle Hardwoods did an AMAZING job.
Our painter, Ryan Atnip of Alpha Painting, painted all of the trim crisp white and all of the walls (including the ceilings) Sherwin William's "Agreeable Gray". If you are local, Ryan does a fantastic job! This paint color is my new favorite greige.
The ancient window air conditioning units were removed and new central air was added to the main floor.
The DIRTY, dusty ceiling fan in the living room was replaced with (another) ReStore find that I painted to match the antique brass fixture in the dining room.
Outlets that weren't up to code were replaced by our electrician, Mike Harlen. He and his team are wonderful, work fast, and were super sweet to my kids...a big plus in the momma's book!

Tomorrow's post...the kitchen.

The Project House "Afters"...Exterior and Back Porch

2015-01-24T22:03:00.000-06:00

Do you watch "Fixer Upper" on HGTV? One of my favorite things about the show, besides the awesome Chip and JoJo, is the fact that they ALWAYS remind the family of what the house looked like before the renovation...then show them the "after". I'm going to show you the "before" along with the "afters"...it just makes it THAT much better!

Here's a little reminder at what the front of the Project House looked like before...

Here is the after...

The changes to the front elevation of the house are:

We removed the metal railings and had our contractor add a beautiful new wood railing around the whole porch, which was then painted white.
The lone maroon shutter was replaced with crisp black shutters, found for a steal at Habitat for Humanity Restore.
I painted the previously-maroon door black and cut out vinyl address numbers (to take the place of the awful plaque hanging on the column).
The rickety mailbox was removed and a sweet black, metal mailbox was added next to the door. I just think it adds to the cottagey charm!
Our electrician moved the light source from the center of the porch to above the door. He wired in a vintage lantern that I found - another ReStore score!
Lastly, the overgrown ivy was removed and new black mulch was added.

The back porch was one of my FAVORITE rooms to redo...probably because it changed the most. Here's what it started out looking like:

This room was SCARY. It was so dirty and neglected, but I knew it had potential. Here are the "after" shots.

The changes to the back porch of the house are:

We removed the shower and added a "step up" laundry room, complete with a half bath...which includes a utility tub! I'd love to have a sink in my laundry room!
The whole porch was painted WHITE! I love how the paneling looks painted crisp, clean white.
The yucky back door was replaced with a sturdy door with some panel detail...another awesome ReStore find.
The concrete was painted with Valspar's Porch and Floor Paint (in City Storm).

Can you believe the difference in that room? Amazing. Tomorrow's post will be all about the living room and dining room!

The Project House "afters"....

2015-01-24T10:48:00.000-06:00

After 3 months of renovation, the Project House is on the market! It turned out just as beautiful as I imagined. Here are a few of the "after" pictures, taken by my excellent photographer friend Emily (of Moments Captured by Emily).

I am posting a few photos today and have posts scheduled all week of each room with details! Enjoy!

If you are looking for a sweet, Craftsman-style house in southwest Missouri, this one would be perfect for you!

The front elevation of the house

Stairs

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Newly-added Laundry Room and Half-Bathroom

"Bonus" room at the top of the stairs

A view of the stairs from the top

Entry - view from the stairs

More pics this week!!

New paint and a peek at the refinished floors...

2015-01-14T09:23:00.001-06:00

The original hardwood floors were refinished and stained in dark walnut. They turned out beautifully! If you are local to the Southwest Missouri area, we used Todd from Eagle Hardwoods. We would definitely recommend him!

I wanted to use a neutral gray paint throughout the whole house with bright, white trim. After scouring through lots and lots of paint swatches, I settled on Sherwin Williams' Agreeable Gray. It's a gorgeous "greige" that will probably make an appearance in a room in our home soon.

The kitchen and bathrooms in the house had linoleum in them...we replaced that with a neutral beige tile. It's amazing how different those spaces look now! I'll start posting "after" photos tomorrow!

The Project House...Upstairs.

2014-12-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

At the top of the stairs you'll find a great second living area. I can picture furnishing this room with some comfy furniture and turning it in to a cozy spot for hanging out with family.

The wide-plank wood floors are painted a dark red right now, which I actually like. We will probably carpet the upstairs to warm it up a bit.

I wish I had better before pictures of the rooms and bathroom, but I was just trying to snap them as quickly as I could and get. out. of. the. smelly. house.

The bedrooms are on the front and back side of the house and are identical to each other. Both have more of those gorgeous windows which let in the best natural light. The ceilings are gabled in both bedrooms, which I love! There are closets in each gable that are a great size. We are actually painting and carpeting the closet so they can be used as good storage or a great "hiding spot" for kids.

There is so much that you can do to accentuate the gabled ceiling in old houses. I love these looks:

(Source)

The upstairs bathroom is a great size for a family to use. More of those great, old windows and beautiful trim.

I love, love, love cottage bathrooms and would love to totally overhaul this bathroom to reflect the Craftsman cottage nature of the house...if only we were moving into The Project House! This bathroom will get a fresh coat of paint and a new tile floor.

(Source)

Those are all of the before pictures! There have been so many changes in The Project House over the last month...I can't wait to post pictures.

The Project House...The Entry, Stairs, and Master Bedroom.

2014-12-04T21:51:00.002-06:00

You'll have to forgive these meh pictures of the house that were taken with my iPhone. I haven't dared bring my camera to the house in fear that it would actually touch something in the house. I snapped all of these pictures FAST so I could get out of the dirty, smelly house. Ya'll, it's not dirty and smell anymore. I can't wait to show you some during pictures next week!

You walk through the original door and end up in a little entry way.

You can see the terrible condition of the floors but I love this little entry area. I can picture a coat rack with a little table as a drop zone, a nice hutch or display piece, or a sweet chair and table like this entry from the cottage that this blogger is remodeling.

(Source)

The entry has already come a LONG way...but you'll have to wait until next week to see that.

To the left of the entry are the stairs that lead to 2 bedrooms, a sweet den or bonus room, and a bathroom.

The Project House gets so much natural light from all of these original windows that are placed everywhere in the house.

It's hard to get a good picture of the stairs because of the size of the landing at the bottom. And quite honestly, you don't want to see a good "before" picture of the stairs. They were gross, gross, beyond gross. Here is a picture taken from the top of the steps with another awesome window letting in amazing natural light. I love the railing and all of the details that went into constructing this house almost 100 years ago.

The stairs were originally dark-stained wood, which we found after we pulled up the dirty, DIRTY, dusty, DUSTY carpet runner. We were originally going to have the stairs painted white, like the trim, and leave them carpet less. However, the stair treads are in terrible shape because of the amount of glue that was used to adhere the runner. We decided to have the stairs painted and will be adding another runner, which I am on the lookout for now!

This is one of those (many) times that if we were moving into The Project House, I would do something totally different. I'd love to have a runner with a geometric pattern like these:

(Source)

Or an animal print runner...I love the unexpected, but neutral, look of cheetah.

(Source - I can't find an original link for this photo.)

But, since we're not moving into The Project House I will go with something more neutral and classic.

The last room on the first floor is the master bedroom, which is just through the living room and is a good size for an old Craftsman style house. It has it's own bathroom and sweet closet tucked under the stairs.

More unbelievable natural light, original trim and doors.

The doors have original door knobs and key holes in them...amazing!

(The closet door)

(The bathroom door)

The bathroom will get a SERIOUS cleaning and the glass shower doors will be removed. After a fresh coat of paint on the trim and walls as well as new tile floors, this bathroom will be gorgeous. Did you notice another amazing original window in there?

Tomorrow's post will give you a peak of the upstairs of The Project House. Those will be all of the before pictures! Yay!

The Project House...The Kitchen

2014-11-21T20:46:00.002-06:00

The kitchen was, by far, the dirtiest room in the entire Project House...

You walk through the living room and dining room into the kitchen. The open 10-pane glass door leads out to the back porch which will soon have a brand new landry room and half bathroom!

Those air fresheners on the counter weren't doing a THING to help the smell in the house. Nice try, previous owners.

The kitchen has linoleum floors which will be replaced with tile. The house had also settled a few inches in the back so there was a pretty steep slope to the kitchen floor. We have already had a structural engineering company come out and jack up the house with concrete pads and posts which has totally corrected the settling, for a surprisingly small amount of money. It looks great!

Other than being dirty, the cabinets are in good condition. A coat of white paint will freshen them right up! You all know how much I love white kitchens! It's hard to tell from this angle, but the cabinet above the stove is set about 4 inches higher than the rest of the cabinets. My plan is to move the rest of the cabinets up to give the new owners more space and to make good use of the tall ceilings!

The layout of the kitchen is a little odd right now, with the stove just hanging out in space with only one cabinet flanking it. I have plans to remove the cabinet from the eat in dining area below and having it retrofitted to the spot next to the stove. This will allow the kitchen to have a true L-shape of counter space. I love black counters in a white kitchen, but I might go with something a little lighter in this kitchen.

There is a little bump out next to the fridge which is an old flue that was built around. We will take those cabinets out and leave the area open. I can imagine a sweet china cabinet or hutch in that little nook! Open shelving would also look awesome.

Here are a few inspiration picture for you...

Original source unknown

Source

Next up are the bedrooms...

There are great things happening at The Project House!

The Project House...Living Room and Dining Room

2014-11-15T14:53:00.002-06:00

Our Project House was built in the 1920s and is a craftsman-style house. It has beautiful hardwood floors that will be refinished, original 12-inch baseboard molding and amazing original windows. You just have to look past the dirt, grime, bugs, and ignore the smell to "see" the beauty...

Scott's parents purchased this house for a STEAL considering the great shape it is in for an old house! It needs updated (cosmetically) on virtually every surface of the house, but the structure and bones are amazing. We are totally updating each room with newly refinished floors, paint, and light fixtures. Most rooms just need some "make up".

You walk into the house into a little entry area that I think would be the perfect place for a china cabinet or other display piece. The floors are pretty badly stained in here, but a good sanding and fresh coat of stain will bring them back to their original glory. I am on a search for a new lantern to hang in this space.

The stairs are to your left and to your right is the rest of the house.

The living room has tons of natural light and now has central air! Bye bye, window unit! The dusty, non-working fan has also been taken down.

The living room is separated from the dining room by these fantastic columns and molding. I LOVE that these are still intact in this house! With a fresh coat of paint, they will be gorgeous.

I will show you the kitchen, master bedroom and master bath early next week! Such exciting things in store for this sorely neglected house.

Introducing The Project House...

2014-11-07T15:36:00.000-06:00

Introducing "The Project House"....

It's a 1920s Craftsman-style house that has the potential to be GORGEOUS...it's just not that gorgeous right now. It has been neglected for a few years but will be better than ever in no time. I will show you more "before" pictures next week but wanted to start with this back porch.

This is the back entry to the house with concrete floors, an old sink, washer and dryer hook ups, a shower (!) and water heater. We are removing the shower and adding a toilet and vanity, which will be a huge addition to he house. Currently, the only bathroom on the main floor is in the master bedroom, so this will be a great bathroom for guests. We're adding a wall to actually make a laundry room with an included bathroom.

Here is a "during" picture:

The shower has been removed and sink have been removed and some of the new subfloor has been added!

I will leave you with a few of our inspiration pictures for the back porch/mudroom side.

Source

Check back next week for all of the "before" photos and the story behind the Project House!

the white lime: a sweet giveaway...

2014-10-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

Shannon, of The White Lime, sent me this sweet print to give away this spring...and then life happened in our house! You moms know how that is, right?

This print is the the perfect addition to your kitchen for the fall and winter months, especially if you love coffee as much as I do.

The print measures 8x10 and is created on Deep Matte Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Paper in order to maintain the look of a real chalkboard. They are flat, and there is no sheen, so they truly do mimic the appearance of a real chalkboard drawing, smudge free!
The contest ends next Friday, October 17!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a few favorite things...

2014-09-10T17:22:00.000-05:00

I am not ever sure I remembered the password to this blog...but here I am. I wanted to share a few of my favorite things right now.

1. This shampoo and conditioner. It smells SO good, makes my hair super soft, is sulfate-free, and can be found at Walmart or Target for less than $6.

Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo

2. This candle from Walmart. It smells like fall and is less than $5 for the glass jar. Awesome.

3. This paint color. Sweet Pea by Olympic Paints at Lowes.

It is a beautiful mint green! I first saw it on this gorgeous nightstand redo.

4. These sugar cookie bars. Be warned, they are AMAZING and will require you to have a glass of milk nearby. I used all butter in the icing (I was out of shortening) and it tasted great!

5. These 2 faces. :) Brittney Davis took our family pictures last month and I am IN LOVE with them! If you are in the Dallas metro area, look her up!

If you want to keep up with more of my faves, be sure to follow me on Instagram!

***I am not being paid for any of this and I'm sure that none of these companies/products knows who I am. :)

valentine's day mantel...

2014-02-12T08:57:00.001-06:00

Ya'll, it's been almost 4 months since I blogged. Where has the time gone? I am just going to jump back in!

I don't normally decorate for Valentine's Day, but the winter that never ends was calling for a little color and a little change! I collected things that I had around the house, made a little banner out of old hymns and baker's twine, and had a Valentine's Day mantel. I can't decide which piece is my favorite - I love the DIY "LOVE" sign that I made last year, with my sweet kiddos' hand and foot prints. But I also love the heart that Grayson drew on the chalkboard. It's not over the top or overly decorated...but it's perfect for us.

It's good to be back...

instafriday...

2013-10-18T11:46:00.000-05:00

Welcome to instafriday! In an effort to get back to regular blogging, I am going to start linking up my weekly instagram pics with jeannett over at Life Rearranged.

Grayson was playing around on his Etch-a-Sketch for about 5 minutes and said "Mom, Dad, look at what I made!" This kid is 5, nearly 6, but has far superior spatial reasoning skills than his mom. It would have taken me much longer than 5 minutes to "draw" my initials on the Etch-a-Sketch.

This baby's gummy smile is one of my favorite things. Seriously.

I finished up dinner and looked outside to see this...Scott and Grayson practicing passing the football while MK watched from her stroller. He is the best daddy ever.

This dog is never far from us during the day. He thinks he is a guard dog. Love him.

I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parm recipe last week and MK could not get enough...neither could Scott and I. The recipe is delicious and super easy. Try it.

Scott and I were working on a large magnetic board for our church lobby. Sheet metal is sharp, y'all. Scott finished the rest of it up by himself while MK and I played in our awesome Wellspring Babies room.

Snuggling with this sweet girl before MOPS the other morning. Love her!

My fall was made yesterday morning. We drove through a little donut shop in town for donuts and they had PUMPKIN donuts. It was seriously fantastic. I'm ready for another one!

Happy Friday, y'all!

"a beautiful mess" string art cross...

2013-10-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)? I have been involved with one group or another since Grayson was born, almost 6 years ago! I am in charge of the "Creative Activities" for our group and this year's theme is "A Beautiful Mess". When looking for a craft that would fit the theme and be a little on the frugal side. I came across this pin for a string art cross on Pinterest and it was perfect!

We have a a friend who has access to free barn wood, so my husband pulled out a bunch of boards and cut them into roughly 5x7 pieces.

I made a little pattern for the nail placement and we hammered in the nails for all 70 boards!

I bought small brad nails from Lowe's and a multi-pack of embroidery floss from Hobby Lobby (with my 40% off coupon!). The whole project ended up costing a little over $10 for 70 boards! A great, frugal project that is perfect for our theme and perfect for adding a little fall touch to our house.

Pinterest-tested recipes...

2013-10-03T09:01:00.001-05:00

Y'all...how is it already October? I feel like this year is just absolutely FLYING by. My little peanut just turned TEN months old, which makes me want to both cheer and weep at the same time.

I promise I will be back to regular blogging this week, but I wanted to share with you a few Pinterest recipes that I have tested and LOVED!

If your family eats chicken as often as ours does, you MUST try this Butter Chicken recipe by Maple Leaves & Sycamore Trees! I have made it twice in the last 2 weeks and everyone has loved it.

I made these cheesy potatoes to go along with the Butter Chicken one night...they are delish!

Feeling like baking for fall? This Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake recipe is good! I made it in mini-loaf form (I bought a 9-count mini loaf pan at Joann's and LOVE it!) and they were seriously good.

Have you tried any great Pinterest recipes lately? Leave me a comment with the pins!

blueberry buttermilk breakfast cake

2013-08-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake by Alexandra Cooks

If you like the combination of blueberries and lemons, you MUST make this cake. Don't let the name fool you...I also served this for a dessert with vanilla ice cream and it. is. delicious!

A few notes:
- To make a 9x13 pan (I used a 9x13 glass Pyrex baking dish), double the recipe. It fits in a 9x13 perfectly!
- Don't skip (or skimp on) the lemon zest! You will never smell anything as good as creaming together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Seriously. Buy yourself a microplane and zest away!

Find this amazingly delicious recipe here!

5 things on Friday...

2013-08-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Several of the blogs that I read post 5 random things on Friday...I thought that was a great way to share the little things that I've been slacking about posting on all summer!

1. I found this fantastic chevron-trimmed wall calendar at Target, just in time to record all of this year's important dates! This is going to be the jumping-off point for a little command center wall in our laundry room.

2. After pinning kitchen ideas, I finally added some glass canisters for flour and sugar to my counters. I added some sweet antique tea cups as scoops after seeing it on Pinterest. I love the pop of green it adds to that side of our kitchen!

3. Ya'll, I have a confession to make. I love Gain detergent and dryer sheets. I have tried lots and lots of the cheaper store brand detergents, but nothing makes our laundry smell as good as Gain!

4. I painted Grayson's old high chair (that was actually a hand-me-down from my nephews) a few months ago, but needed some kind of cushion for Miss Mollie Kate's behind to sit on. I finally got my act together this week and whipped up a little top and bottom cushion with some laminated fabric (from Hobby Lobby), a few layers of quilt batting, and some bias tape.

5. I cannot get over the cuteness of these little moccasins I bought for MK at the Old Navy outlet last weekend. Are they not the cutest shoes you have ever seen?

etsy back to school sale

2013-08-22T13:26:00.000-05:00

School is starting all over the place. Head on over to my Etsy shop and get 15% off until September 8th! Just use coupon code BACK2SCHOOL at checkout!

back to school...

2013-08-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

My baby boy started Kindergarten last Wednesday...and he LOVES it! We are so thankful for a sweet teacher who loves her job.

Here are a few "back to school" pictures!

A little heart to remind him throughout the day that his mommy and daddy love him!

where did the summer go?

2013-08-07T15:55:00.000-05:00

Y'all...where on earth did the summer go? In just one week, my ~~baby~~ big boy will start kindergarten. I can hardly believe that my ~~tiny baby~~ boy is old enough to be in KINDERGARTEN. So, I am going to continue to soak up the last days of summer and enjoy every last second of my boy being at home all day. I'll be back to all things bloggy soon.

Until then, here is a bit of what we've been up to via Instagram.

winner, winner, chicken dinner...

2013-07-02T09:35:00.003-05:00

Erin just announced the winners of the Find Joy in the Journey giveaway! Are you one of them?

If you're a winner, contact Erin! Happy Tuesday, friends!

What I'm reading...

2013-06-28T08:33:00.000-05:00

I LOVE books! One of my favorite things to do is curl up with a good book and read for hours. But, I have a 5-year old and a 7-month old so reading time is a little harder to come by. Having said that, Matched trilogy by Ally Condie has been so worth lost sleep and delayed housework!

If you liked the Hunger Games, you will definitely enjoy this series about a "dystopian" society. They are the perfect quick, beach read. What have you been reading?

So long, farewell Google Reader....

2013-06-27T10:27:00.003-05:00

I have been using Google Reader to read my favorite blogs for years! But, Google Reader will be retiring as of July 1. I have migrated my reads over to Feedly and bloglovin'. I plan to use both of them for a while to see which one I like the best. They both have iPhone apps, which I love!

Bloglovin':

To import your feeds from Google Reader to bloglovin', visit this link: bloglovin.com/import/reader

Click the button to follow 517 Creations with bloglovin'.

To import your feeds to Feedly, visit: http://cloud.feedly.com/

To follow 517 Creations on Feedly, simply click on Add Content (in the top left corner) and search for "517creations". It'll be the first option that pops up!

Which reader will you be using?

"find joy in the journey" celebration giveaway!

2013-06-22T20:37:00.002-05:00

**The giveaway is over! Check to see if you're a winner!**

Welcome to the PARTY!!! I haven't been blogging for over a MONTH and have a lot of good reasons for that...one of them being that I finished designing this awesome book and we finally published it! If you'd like to purchase your own copy of the Ebook for $4.99, click here to visit Worthy of the Prize.

To celebrate the hard work and awesome stories that are included in this book, Erin has compiled some awesome prizes for are a huge giveaway!

1. A super-cute fun flops large utility tote from Thirty-One Gifts...perfect for hauling all of your towels, toys, equipment to the park, pool, beach in style this summer!

2. A Kindle E-reader with the "find joy in the journey" Ebook downloaded onto it!
Good luck! You can enter through Sunday, June 30th. All 4 winners will be randomly selected and announced Monday, July 1st. Must be 18 years old and US resident to enter. No international shipments.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3. A custom, handmade summer fun tote bag in grey chevron from NeeJee Wear, perfect for carrying stuff to the park, pool, beach this summer...can even fit a couple of rolled-up beach towels in it! It is made out of laminated fabric, which makes it super easy to wipe down and keep clean!

4. A custom 16x20 painted "find joy in the journey" canvas from Bee Creative, which would look fantastic hanging in any home!

To enter the giveaway, follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter form below. You MUST answer the first question (after you login, click where it says Answer A Question!) to be eligible for the giveaway! All other entries are simply to increase your chances of winning!

C.S. Lewis printable...

2013-05-21T15:48:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's post I said that I would be back today with a matching printable...

Such a simple reminder by C.S. Lewis that, although it can apply to graduation, is pretty appropriate for the aftermath of the horrific tragedy that happened in Moore, Oklahoma yesterday. We happened to stay in Moore last Tuesday night (just a week ago) to break up our trip to Texas. We are looking for opportunities to go and serve in Moore to "pay it forward" for all of the fantastic support that the Joplin community received 2 years ago. I will keep you all posted of ways you can help!